Staying in Charge

You have the right to be in Charge of your medical care as long as you are able. You
can consent to care or you can refuse care. It is up to you to decide the kind and
quality of care you receive based on what you believe is right and what is important to
you.

If at some time you become sick or you cannot communicate, you will need to depend
on other people to make decisions for you. By taking action before a crisis or major ill-
ness occurs, you can stay in charge of your medical care. In order to stay in charge
you can name who you want to make decisions for you in a Health Care Power of
Attorney, sometimes called a Living Will. An attorney usually advises clients to
execute a Health Care Power of Attorney along with their other estate planning
documents.

It is important for you to carefully choose the right person to be your decision maker
(called your "Agent"). An ideal person for you to authorize to serve as your "Agent" on
your Powers of Attorney should be someone who you can communicate with and who
respects your opinions. The decision maker should be readily available and you
should also name a backup, or successor, to that person in both your Health Care
Power of Attorney and Properly Power of Attorney. Be sure to include telephone
numbers of the Agent in the documents. You must be confident that the person will
make the medical decisions for you that you would have made for yourself if you were
able, as you directed in your Health Care Power of Attorney, even if your decision is
different from what they would choose. That person must be able to be your advocate
and stand up for the care you would want if you could speak for yourself, even if there
are others who disagree.

First and foremost, you must have a written Health Care Power of Attorney that is
properly executed and you must communicate clearly with your decision maker
(Agent) as to your wishes. The same is true in regard to a Property Power of Attorney.
A properly execution Property Power of Attorney authorizes your Agent to perform
financial transaction for you during your disability only.

A complete estate plan should include a Health Care Power of Attorney, along with a
Property Power of Attorney, a Last Will and Testament, and sometimes a Trust.
Upon admittance to a hospital, if you do not already have a Health Care Power of
Attorney, the hospital will help to facilitate the execution of such a document.

Nancy R. Larson is an attorney in Belleville, Illinois, with a practice focused in
elder care and estate planning matters.